Chuck Alvey, CEcD, President & CEO
Chuck Alvey, CEcD, is President and CEO of EDAWN – The Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, a position he has held since September of 1998. EDAWN is a not-for-profit corporation, a private-public partnership committed to recruiting and expanding quality companies that have a positive economic impact on the quality of life in the western Nevada region. CEcD stands for Certified Economic Developer. CEcDs are acknowledged as having achieved a professional level of experience demonstrated by a thorough understanding and knowledge of the tools and programs of economic development. The CEcD process is a learning system comprised of professional competency standards combining field experience, coursework, professional interaction and a final testing process comprised of written and oral examinations.
Reporting to a community-based board of trustees and leading a professional team of nine, Chuck has led efforts resulting in more than $1 billion in economic impact to the region. He spearheaded the launch of EDAWN’s Business Builders, a business retention and expansion program seeking to build relationships and gather data from hundreds of base economy companies. Most recently he led northern Nevada’s first Target Industry and Skill Set Study (Target2010), a strategic economic planning process to shape future economic growth and quality of life in the region by attracting, expanding and starting up industries that will bring high paying jobs and opportunities to citizens.
Chuck was named one of Nevada’s most respected CEO’s in November 2002 by Nevada Business Journal and was honored as marketer of the year for northern Nevada by the American Marketing Association’s local chapter twice over twelve years in Reno, once while General Manager of KOLO-TV and once at EDAWN. He came to his economic development career after 31 years in television management in Michigan, Arizona and is in the Nevada Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
Married 35 years to Pam, a special education teacher and published poet, he has three children: Heather, 29, a unit coordinator at St. Mary’s Hospital, Ryan, 25, married to Juliette and a seminary student at Concordia, St. Louis and Amanda, 24, an insurance adjuster at CDS. He is an un-published novelist with two completed.
Julie Ardito, Director of Public Relations
Julie Ardito is public relations director of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN). EDAWN is a not-for-profit, private/public partnership committed to recruiting, expanding and starting quality companies that have a positive economic impact on the quality of life in northern Nevada. Since joining EDAWN in 2003, Ardito has spearheaded Nevada's first economic development partnership, an integrated marketing campaign to increase national visibility and awareness of the benefits of doing business in northern Nevada. Over the past three years, the campaign has generated more than 1,000 news stories valued at nearly $22 million in media value.
Ardito has more than 15 years of public relations experience including agency and corporate communications. Prior to joining EDAWN, she spent seven years as executive vice president/director of public relations for the Rose/Glenn Group, a full-service advertising and public relations agency where she generated award-winning, results-oriented campaigns for the agency's clients. She has been recognized with the Gold Spike Award given to a public relations professional for advancing the public relations profession in northern Nevada and for community service. Ardito is also the recipient of the PRSA Silver Spike Award for excellence in public relations and the American Marketing Association Ace Award for excellence in marketing campaigns.
She is active within the northern Nevada community serving on the University of Nevada Alumni Association board of trustees in which was president in 2006, the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism Professional Advisory Board and the Western Industrial Nevada board of directors. She is a member of the Sierra Nevada Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and served on the steering committee for the Nevada Women’s Fund Women of Achievement. Ardito earned a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from the University of Nevada and worked at CNN and MTV Networks in New York during her undergraduate years.
Gail Conkey, Director of Marketing
In this new position for EDAWN, Gail will oversee the implementation, both in and out of market, for the regional business brand “Greater Reno-Tahoe; Welcome to Can Do”. In addition to these marketing and branding efforts she will also work on a variety of workforce initiatives.
Prior to her current position, she also served as the Director of Operations from August 2005 to August of 2007 and as the Director of Business Services overseeing EDAWN’s business retention and expansion division from 2003 to 2005. She created the operations department for EDAWN that included the integration of computer and software systems, internal office programs and resources, strategic planning, human resources, research and finance to ensure the organization meets its long term goals.
Prior to joining EDAWN, Gail served as the Director of Marketing for the Port of Subs corporate office for 7 years and as Membership and Marketing Director for the Reno Family YMCA also for 7 years.
Conkey is past chair of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce and Leadership Reno-Sparks. She currently serves on the board and executive board for NevadaWorks and the Nevada Association of Employers. She also serves on the board and as the Nominating Committee Chair for the Girls Scouts of Northern Nevada. Previously she served on the boards for Truckee Meadows Tomorrow, WIN and Kiwanis. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from University of California at Davis.
Ken Pierson, Director of Business Development
Ken Pierson, director of business development at the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada (EDAWN) is responsible for overseeing the recruitment, expansion and retention of companies to the region and developing business leads in targeted industries that bring quality companies and high paying jobs to the area.
Pierson has more than two decades of business, sales, project management and operations experience. Prior to joining EDAWN, he was general manager of the New Horizons Computer Learning Center in Reno. Pierson was also the president and director of a national and e-commerce retail company, president/owner of a property management firm and real estate broker. He is a member of the Truckee Meadows Community College Computer Technologies Advisory Committee and Redfield Campus Advisory Board. Pierson earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Nevada.
